Such a container is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,113,579. In this patent specification supporting means are described being a rectangular frame and comprising two openings for receiving of contact lenses placed adjacent to each other. This storage frame is introduced under pressure in the container in that a screw plug is urged on its upper side. This structure is relatively complicated to fabricate and has a substantial thickness. The first feature results in relatively high manufacturing costs whilst the second one will considerably increase dispatching costs. Contact lenses are centrally produced and shipped on order to opticians by mail. These problems are aggravated when forwarding a plurality of these containers, e.g. from the place of manufacture to customers, such as opticians, training institutes, hospitals, etc., but also in storing relatively large numbers of these containers or during transport of the containers, for example, by customers or contact lens specialists.
Another state-of-the-art container for storing contact lenses also comprises a cylindrical receiving means, yet its cap abuts on the cylindrical receiving means as a snap fastening device, so as to close it. The lens is not supported by a supporting means yet is submerged or floats in the conditioning solution. This presents the problem that when removing the lens from the container a finger tip will contact the conditioning solution, so that the receiving means of the container gets easily soiled.
As for both known types of containers, the receiving means, which is designed to contain a conditioning solution, is to be closed on the periphery by means of the cap abutting on the receiving means. Practice showed that when the lens has to stay for a relatively longer period of time in the container some of the solution evaporates, so that therefore the remaining part of the solution thickens. For this reason, these known containers are not suitable for storing the lens for several days, weeks or months. Besides, it appears that after frequent use leaks may occur, as might take place, for example, when the container is transported in such a manner that the solution is near the opening of the receiving space. Moreover, refraction at the container's cylindrical surface makes it hard to catch any sight of the lens, or, if any, it would be distorted, the visibility being hindered even more when the container is,provided with a data-carrying label.